Blazer Chalet and Jimmy Casa Grande

A rare edition of GM's sporty shorty offers deluxe accommodations

Feature Article from Hemmings Motor News

Sure, the Chevy Blazer Chalet and its sibling the GMC Jimmy Casa Grande look a little odd at first glance, but you can follow the designers' logic. RVs have limited capability as they are typically built on two-wheel-drive chassis. Four-wheel-drive pickups, on the other hand, will go almost anywhere with a slide-in camper mounted in the bed, but they have the limitation of not permitting direct access to the living quarters from the cab of the truck.
Enter GM's K5 Blazer and Jimmy. Built on ½-ton light-truck platforms, they're heavy-duty enough to support a camper, and because the back of the Blazer/Jimmy's cab (the cab roof too, up until 1975) is cut away, it permits full access to the living quarters. As a plus, short-wheelbase Blazers and Jimmys had a sporty, youthful, go-anywhere image that would appeal to outdoorsy buyers--sort of a cross between the hardworking pickup and the playful Jeep CJ.
The Chalet and the Casa Grande were a collaboration between the General and RV maker Chinook Mobilodge Inc. The camper body consisted of a fiberglass reinforced plastic body constructed over a steel frame, then mounted to the back of a Chevrolet Blazer or GMC Jimmy. The open air between the cockpit of the truck and the living space of the camper made the Chalet and Casa Grande's interior seem nearly as spacious as a small RV. Contributing to that feeling of spaciousness, the roof of the camper was outfitted with an expandable top that, when extended upward, could accommodate a 6-foot 5-inch outdoorsman wearing a baseball cap.
The base Chalet/Casa Grande packed everything one needed to tame the great outdoors, including the kitchen sink. There were sleeping accommodations for two, seating for four, a dinette table, a stainless steel sink, a potable water carrying capacity of five gallons, a two-burner lpg stove with a stainless-steel top and an icebox.
Upgrading to "Option Package Two" gained buyers a refrigerator that operated on lpg or on electrical power via an auxiliary battery and an AC/DC converter. Option Package Three increased sleeping capacity to four with the addition of a pair of overhead bunks of questionable space and comfort.
The truck beneath this permanently mounted studio apartment was well outfitted too, with power steering, chrome front and rear bumpers and a front-mounted spare tire carrier. The standard engine was a 350 four-barrel, and the 400 four-barrel was available. The trucks could be ordered with either a three- or four-speed manual with conventional four-wheel drive or with a Turbo Hydra-matic automatic transmission and full-time four-wheel drive.
Of course, straight-line performance, fuel mileage and handling all suffered beneath the weight and height of the camper conversion as did the K5's excellent off-road capability. The truck's livability received mixed reviews in its day as well--better perhaps than a pickup camper, but not as good as a full-fledged RV.
The Chalet and Casa Grande were only available in 1976 and 1977, and approximately 1,800 were manufactured. The trucks' specialty nature might have limited their appeal, but the price tag probably scared some prospective buyers off as well. The base Blazer Chalet retailed for $9,426, according to the March '77 Motor Trend, but the price could quickly rise into the low teens as the options were piled on. Today, they've attracted a very intimate cult following. Hemmings reader and enthusiastic Chalet owner Russell Cook has documented 160 of these unique machines, and believes he's just scratched the surface.
"I'd estimate there are probably another several hundred out there to be found, neglected in storage lots around the country," he said. "Most owners have no idea how rare these are."
Their value today is up to the buyer and seller of a particular truck. A nice-looking Chalet with some modifications (lot number 37) crossed the block at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale in January, netting $9,350. However, value guides ignore the model altogether and private sales are few and far between. For lots of interesting info and insight, into these unique sport utes, check out www.blazerchalet.com or join the Yahoo Chalet/Casa Grande owners' forum at autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ChevyK5BlazerChalets/.

This article originally appeared in the April, 2009 issue of Hemmings Motor News.